Church at Work

Worship/Work

May 28, 2023 • Rev. Ho-Ming Tsui • Romans 12:1–8

Sermon Notes Church at Work: Worship/Work Rev. Ho-Ming Tsui Scripture: Romans 12:1-8 ——— How can we close the gap between Sunday morning and Monday morning? • Battle: Worship OR Work • Balance: Worship AND Work • Harmony: Work AS worship ——— When does work become an opportunity to worship? When we: 1. Recognize the mercy of God (v. 1a) 2. Trust in the purpose of God (v. 1b-8) ——— Conclusion: As a church… We want you to bring your work INTO our worship We want our worship to propel you back TO your work

Why rest from work?

May 21, 2023 • Pastor Stephen Hsu • Genesis 2:1–3

Sermon Notes Why rest from work? Pastor Stephen Hsu Gen 2:1-3 2 Questions: Why and How do we rest? ——— BIG IDEA: We rest from work because God made rest holy, so that we can love Him more. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. —Genesis 2:1-3 ——— WHY REST FROM WORK? 1. Because God stopped work on the 7th day. (v. 2-3) 2. Because God made the 7th day holy. (v. 3) 3. Because rest comes before work. (1-3) Busyness is the enemy of spirituality. It is essentially laziness. It is doing the easy thing instead of the hard thing. It is filling our time with own actions instead of paying attention to God’s actions. It is taking charge. —Subversive Spirituality, Eugene Peterson ——— HOW SHOULD WE REST? 1. Crawl: Be With Him (Mark 3:14) 2. Walk: Be Yoked to Him (Matthew 11:28-30) 3. Run: Delight In Him (Isaiah 58:13-14) If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day,If you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord…—Isaiah 58:13-14 ——— Conclusion: I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. —Song of Solomon 6:3

Work in the New Heavens and New Earth

May 14, 2023 • Rev. Shu-Ling Lee • Revelation 22:1–5

Church at Work: Work in the New Heavens and New Earth Rev. Shu-Ling Lee Scripture: Revelation 22:1-5 NIV Introduction: 1. We will still be SERVING THE LORD (aka “working”) in the New Heavens and New Earth. (Rev 22:1-3, Col 3:23-24) The point of the resurrection…is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die…What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it…What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether (as the hymn so mistakenly puts it…). They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom.—N.T. Wright - Surprised by Hope 2. There will be no longer any CURSE OF WORK in the New Heavens and the New Earth. (Rev 22:3, Gen 3:8-21) 3. JESUS CHRIST is the Center of the New Heavens and New Earth. (Rev 21:22-26, Rev 22:5) Conclusion Question: What is your ONE THING?

Integration of Faith and Work

May 7, 2023 • Rev. Reuben Foncardas • Colossians 1:15–20, Colossians 3:22—4:1

Sermon notes Church at Work: Integration of Faith and Work Rev. Reuben Foncardas Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20, 3:22-4:1 “The task may appear unimportant or trivial, but the person doing it is never that, and he or she has the opportunity to turn the job into an act of worship.” —N.T Wright ——— How do you integrate your faith with your work? 1. Change your MINDSET: Learn to work WITH Christ! • What we do is connected with what God is doing. • "...and through him (Jesus) to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (1:20) • EXPERIENCE God in your everyday life. 2. Change your MOTIVE: Learn to work FOR Christ! • What we do is connected with who God is. • "Is it he Lord Christ you are serving." (3:24b) "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." (1:15) • EXALT God in everything you do. 3. Change you MANNER: Learn to work LIKE Christ! • What we do is connected with who God is. • "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for ht human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward." (3:23-24a, 1:20) • EXCEL in the output of your work and in the outcome of your walk.

HOW should we work?

April 30, 2023 • Pastor Stephen Hsu • Isaiah 61:1–6

Church at Work: HOW should we work? Pastor Stephen Hsu Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-6 How should we work? 3 ways: ——— 1. The Spirit empowers our witness (v.1-2) a. But is it appropriate for us to say this today? b. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" - Acts 1:8 ——— 2. The Spirit empowers our work (c.3-5) a. Why did Jesus Work? b. "14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” - Luke 4:14-18 c. Why do YOU work? ——— 3. You are to be priests and ministers (v. 6) a. “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” - Luke 11:13 b. "I’m prepared to contend that the primary location for SPIRITUAL FORMATION is the workplace.” - Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places c. "and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." - Luke 3:22

The Theology of Work

April 23, 2023 • Rev. Ho-Ming Tsui • Genesis 1:26–28

Sermon notes Church at Work: The Theology of Work Rev. Ho-Ming Tsui Scripture: Genesis 1:26-28 What is the story you’re living out? • Purpose: What is the universe all about? What am I doing on this planet? • Problem: Why are things not the way they should be? What obstacles should I overcome to accomplish this good and meaningful goal? • Solution: What is the main way to resolve what is wrong? How do I overcome the problem so I can fulfill my purpose? What is Work in the Christian Story? 1. Purpose: Work is a means by which God extends His love to the world. a. We were created to resemble God b. We were created to represent God 2. Problem: Work has been corrupted by sin 3. Solution: Work can be redeemed. There are 3 purposes God calls us to fulfill (“Exiles on Mission” by Paul Williams) 1. The Creation Mandate (to fill, cultivate, and rule the earth), ie. "First Commission" 2. The Great Commandments (to love God and neighbour) 3. The Great Commission (to scatter, be witnesses, make disciples) a. See our work as redemption• displaying b. Treat our work as mission• advancing